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At first, she felt a little self-conscious dancing around the living room.
But when Bo sat up so she could see better, April relaxed and really let go.
By the end of the song, she was laughing and sweeping her sweaty hair out of her eyes.
“Whoa,” Minerva said. “That was epic.”
“Thank you,” April laughed, giving a little bow. “Now it’s your turn.”
Bo hopped up immediately, but Minerva slipped off the sofa and headed for the hallway.
“Where are you going?” April called after her.
“I need to study,” Minerva mumbled.
“It’s the weekend, Min,” April reminded her.
“I can’t really, um, dance,” Minerva said.
“Everyone can dance,” April retorted. “And besides, no one leaves in the middle of a dance party.”
“Why not?” Bo asked solemnly, as if it were a serious rule.
“Because if you leave before the end, you don’t get my special cosmic ice cream,” April decided.
“What’s that?” Minerva asked.
“That’s the vanilla ice cream you have in the fridge with all the Terran candy I brought with me and homemade whipped cream,” April said, waggling her eyebrows.
Minerva laughed.
April could see her ravenous teenage appetite fighting her ingrained teenage embarrassment to see whether she was going to shut herself back in her room or join the fun.
In the end, the ice cream won out, and Minerva jogged back into the living room.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll try. But no promises, and no video feed.”
“Of course not,” April said. “We’re not dancing for anyone but ourselves.”
She restarted the music and began showing the girls her made up steps.
“I can’t turn that many times,” Minerva said immediately.
“Here’s the secret,” April told her. “You only do as many as you can do easily, or you substitute something you do like to do. Like this.”
She gave a couple of four-count examples of alternatives. In one, she did a set of jumps. In the next she did a slow leg extension. And the last one was a mime of someone swimming underwater and spotting a shark.
The girls were instantly falling on the sofa laughing at her.
“April, you’re swimming,” Bo yelled, flopping over on her back.
“You wouldn’t really do that,” Minerva laughed nervously.
“Why not?” April asked. “It made you laugh, right? Art is supposed to make you feel something. Why not make it funny sometimes?”
Minerva grinned.
“Ready, ladies?” April asked.
Minerva nodded once. A victory if there ever was one.
April hit the music and they all started dancing. She kept the kids in her periphery, but made sure not to watch them too closely.
Predictably, Bo spent the entire dance underwater. But the kid had moves. More importantly, the exercise and laughter clearly had her feeling much better.
Minerva moved shyly at first, but by the time the song kicked in she was clearly getting into it.
April pumped up the volume a little and let herself go.
